


Freedom

by laraanita



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-10 01:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3272237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laraanita/pseuds/laraanita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TI Secret Santa gift for Kappa. College AU. Ashe arrives at her University, away from Meathe for the first time in her entire life. So begins her new life of freedom and chaos when she meets her fellow students.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Ashe tugged down the headphones that had been nestled over her ears, protecting them from the blazing sun outside and looked up at the impressive building before her. It was large, more long than tall, and boasted an impressive number of windows. Other than that, she found it… lacking. It was impressive, perhaps, to those from small towns who barely had a two story building in them. But to someone who had grown up and lived inside massive trees her whole life, it looked small, cramped, and lifeless despite the throng of people everywhere.

 

She sighed internally and followed the signs for registration instead of brooding on the growing homesickness. She’d had to fight tooth and nail for this university placement, and not just in studying for it. Her father, indeed, most of her home town had been against her coming here. How dare she leave them; what if they needed her, what if, what if- She gritted her teeth and stuck her headphones back on as she joined the long queue for signing in. _What if they all just took a leap off a cliff_ , she thought to herself. Still, here she was, rubbing it in everyone’s faces as she did something for herself for once instead of ‘the good of the island’.

 

She couldn’t help but eye up some of the others in line with her. _Gods, I could take ‘doing something’’ to a whole new level here, I don’t have to follow the rules anymore.._.

 

Her somewhat lewd thoughts were interrupted as she finally reached the front of the line, sliding down her headphones again to be greeted with a dead-eyed gaze and a monotone voice. “Welcome to the Free Isles University, I’m Karen. Name please.”

 

“Uh, Aesling-” she started, before a green sleeved pile of papers was abruptly shoved at her.

 

“There’s only one, so I’ll assume that’s you.” Karen sighed, dead eyes looking down at her checklist and scratching off something at the top. “Your dorm is the building in the south-west corner: the one that’s called Nine Shrines. Your room card is in the pack, and you’ll be sharing with two other girls in your year, like you requested. I’m the RA for that building, so I’ll be seeing you in future. I’m sure it’ll be a pleasure. Next.”

 

Ashe took the green sleeve and tucked it against her chest, walking away from the queue to get out the way of that dead gaze as fast as she could. Only when she’d managed to get out of the way of the crowd did she take a look at the information pack. Helpfully, the first thing there was a map of the campus. She eyed it critically and decided that it would do until she could draw up one of her own; cartography was something of a hobby to her, something she’d discovered while cooped up on Meathe in her younger years. She pushed down memories that threatened to well up and focused on the map, orienting herself easily, and headed towards the south west corner - home for the year.

 

-0-

 

She had to work her way through the minor crush in the corridors of the Nine Shrines building, her massive pack and case almost colliding with another student or two in a similar situation, looking for rooms with heavy bags. She found her own easily enough, on the second floor near the end of the corridor. The doors to the rooms nearby were open and she snuck a peek into one as she passed by. She caught a glimpse of a young someone with grey hair and large black eyes before she’d walked past. She was sure she’d be meeting them in time, so she left it for the moment and set down a case to get the room card out of her welcome pack. She slid it through the lock on the door. It clicked open, letting her push down the handle and nudge open the door with a foot. She was hit with the blast of loud music and the smell of home baked goods. Immediately, she felt at home.

 

With a grin, she dragged her case inside and kicked the door shut. “Hello?” she called, finally unhooking the pack from her back and dropping it to the floor with a thump. She rolled her shoulders and groaned, happy to get the weight off. She might have been pretty strong, but it didn’t mean she enjoyed carrying a weight like that around constantly.

 

The music lowered in volume and a brown face peeked around the corner ahead of her, grinning. Two pointed ears stuck out of the brown bob of hair atop the head. “Hi!”

 

Ashe’s interest was immediately perked. “Hi. I guess you’re my roommate for the next year?”

 

“Yes!” She slipped around the corner, revealing herself to be holding a hot baking tray filled with muffins. Ashe's mouth started to water; they smelled so good. “I’m Dont, and I’m spiritfolk.” Something swished behind her legs and Ashe realised it was a short tail.

 

“I’ve never met a spiritfolk before. I’m Aesling, but you can call me Ashe. I’m from Meathe.” Ashe gave the spiritfolk girl a smile, all the while retaining some amusement at the odd name.

 

You’ll be seeing a lot of us around here. The university is pretty much right on our doorstep so a lot of us end up coming here.” Dont motioned Ashe further into the student flat, stepping out of sight again. “There’s two more of us opposite: Charoth and Kyl'il. I know them both, so I can introduce you. There’s also Kier, but well, he’s kind of crazy.” She led Ashe through the small living room area to the joined kitchen area, setting down the baking tray on a cooling rack and shucking off the oven mitts. “Well, maybe not crazy, just… socially awkward. As long as you don’t accept any devices he gives you, you should be okay.”

 

Ashe took in the warning and stowed it away, just in case this Kier fellow decided to offer her some contraption in future. He sounded like an odd fellow. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”

 

Dont turned to her, ears perked up curiously. “So, you wanna see your room? We already picked ours since we were here first, but they’re all pretty identical. Inien’s in hers at the moment unpacking. I’m pretty sure she’ll come out soon, though.”

 

“Uh, yeah, room would be great. Just point me and I’ll grab my stuff.” Ashe was rather eager to settle in and see everything. Dont led her down the small corridor with four doors branching off it. She pointed at each one and listed what it was, though since three doors were currently open it wasn’t really needed. “Bathroom, my room, Inien’s room, your room. You need help with the cases? They looked heavy.”

 

“Actually I think I’ll be okay. I walked all the way here so I can carry them a little further.” Ashe smiled at Dont. “Thank you. I’ll leave my door open, and if you’re not too distracted by your cooking, we could talk.”

 

Dont gave her a wide grin. “Sure!”

 

hich was how Ashe ended up with Dont helping her to tack up a large hand drawn map of Meathe while piles of clothes and trinkets sat haphazardly around the small bedroom, scattered over the bed, the side table, chair and desk, and even the floor. Dont admired the detail in the map, green eyes wide. “Wow, this is beautiful.”

 

“Thank you.” Ashe smiled, pushing the last tack into place and stepping back. “It was the last map I made of home before leaving. Something to remember it by.”

 

“You’ve got some real skill. Planning on doing it professionally?” Dont asked, hopping down off the bed now she was no longer needed to hold anything up.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know what I’ll do after this.” Ashe shrugged. “This year is a – a test for me. If it goes well, then I’ll try and finish all the years I signed up for. If it doesn’t…” She waved at hand at the map. “I’ll have to go home.” _And face the fact that everyone was right._

 

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’ll have a great year.” Dont grinned and gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow. “Muffins should be cool now, wanna grab one?”

 

“Love to.” The smell of the muffins was enough to make her stomach growl. Dont laughed, hurrying back through for delicious muffin time.

 

-0-

 

They’d consumed a muffin and a half each before they saw their other flatmate, the elusive Inien. The girl exited her room and shut the door behind her, heading over to the breakfast bar where the others sat. “Ooh muffin,” was all she said before snagging one and taking a seat beside Ashe. Ashe caught her eyes raking over the bindings on her upper arms and tensed up a fraction. Inien’s eyes dragged themselves up to Ashe’s eyes and she gave Ashe a wide grin that sent barely concealed shivers through her. “I’m Inien.”

 

“I figured,” Ashe replied, wondering why she felt so on edge when Inien looked at her. She didn’t feel threatened, just… off centre somehow - thrown for a loop. “I’m Aesling. Ashe for short.”

 

“A pleasure.” Inien offered her hand, the one that was free of muffin, and Ashe hesitantly took it, half expecting some kind of trap. Nothing happened, just the warmth of Inien’s hand spreading to her own. Inien let her go and took a bite out of her muffin, eyes still taking in Ashe. Dont was glancing between the two with slightly raised eyebrows but elected not to say anything about the odd tenseness that stayed between them. Ashe focused on eating her own, trying to ignore the warm tingle left from Inien’s touch.

 

-0-

 

After the muffins had been devoured, Dont brought up the suggestion of going and meeting the neighbours. Inien had grinned that large grin of hers again and Ashe wondered if it was just how Inien was, if she always smiled so wide. Still, she kind of wanted to see these other spirit folk and neighbours. She was here to meet people and mingle; have new experiences. Meeting people who were not of Meathe was certainly part of that.

 

Ashe followed Dont across the hall first. Dont didn’t bother knocking, just walked right through the open door. It happened to be the one Ashe had peeked into earlier. The grey person she’d spotted looked up at them as Dont barrelled inside, not making a sound as she took the seat opposite him in the little living area and made introductions. “Charoth, this is Inien, and this is Ashe. We’re sharing, just like you and Kier and Kyl'il.” As she spoke, Ashe noticed Dont doing something with her hands, moving them rapidly through a series of motions. She didn’t know what was going on until she noticed Charoth make a small gesture back that she realised was a language of sorts. _We didn’t have that on Meathe…did we? Maybe they just never told me about it._

 

DDont grinned and turned to the other girls. “Charoth says hi. He doesn’t talk much. Being away from home is a whole new experience for him. He’s shy, but he’ll get used to you in no time.”

 

Ashe hesitated for a moment before she asked, “What was that, the movement…can you show me?”

 

DDont flicked an ear at her. “To what, say hi?” Her hands flicked through a simple movement.

 

Ashe followed it through on her own, slower, slightly clumsier, but a nod from Dont and a second repeat of it made her feel more confident. She turned to Charoth and repeated the motion, at the same time saying, “Hi, Charoth.”

 

Charoth gazed at her with large black eyes filled with something she couldn’t name but she felt some connection between them, and for a moment she wondered what he was back home on the Shrouded Isles. Charoth gave her a slight nod, figure seeming to relax at little as he regarded her. Maybe he felt whatever the connection was too. She gave him a smile.

 

Inien shrugged, turning away. “Who else lives here then?” She asked Dont, an air of indifference about her that Ashe wasn’t particularly pleased by.

 

“Kyl'il is out buying food, but I’m here!” came a loud boisterous voice, sounding decidedly happy.

 

“That’s Kier,” Dont sighed, right as a fiery haired brick of a man bounded into the living room with all the grace and joy of an excited puppy. Ashe almost felt herself grow happier just looking at the grin on his face.

 

While Charoth seemed to shrink into the background and be content with watching the others, Kier seemed to fill the space easily, loud and colourful and just so happy that it was infectious. It probably helped that he was tall and wide, his muscled form seeming to fill the entire doorway to the hall. At least he filled it until he bounded into the room and grabbed Ashe’s hand, shaking it vigorously before he was moving onto Inien. “Kier Fiyore, a pleasure!” he boomed, grinning all the while.

 

Ashe shook her head, already somewhat fond of this strange loud boy and his exuberant happiness, though she did suspect she’d grow tired of it if she was forced to endure it for too long. “I’m Ashe.”

 

“Inien,” said the girl in question while disentangling herself from Kier’s overly enthusiastic grip. Yet she grinned back. “Aren’t you a big one?”

 

Kier laughed and shrugged. “I guess I am pretty big yeah.”

 

Inien’s grin widened and Ashe had to fight the sudden temptation to save Kier from her clutches. It probably showed on her face, to the point where Inien glanced at her with an innocent expression and said, “What?”

 

Ashe shot a meaningful look at Dont, who blinked back at her. The meaning was apparently lost in translation, so Ashe cleared her throat before Inien could say anything else to Kier. “So, shouldn’t we go meet more neighbours? What about next door?”

 

“Oh, those guys are pretty cool.” Kier nodded, red hair bouncing about his cheeks, about as lively as he was. “Markus is a cool guy, you should definitely go say hi.”

 

“Well there you go.” Ashe rubbed her hands together. “We should go say hi to Markus, and to whoever lives with him.” She turned back to the quiet Charoth and gave him a smile. “I guess I’ll see you around, Charoth. It was nice meeting you.”

 

Charoth gazed up at her, before nodding slowly. His fingers lifted and twitched slightly, as though making a very small wave goodbye. Behind Ashe, Dont smiled.

 

They almost had to drag Inien away from Kier, who was somewhat confused by the rather large flirtatious grin she’d shot him on the way out. Ashe sighed as the door clicked shut behind them. “Really Inien? You just met him.”

 

Inien grinned at Ashe, eyes staring at her in much the same way she’d stared at Kier. “I don’t see a problem with it. Live a little, Aesling.” She brushed past, heading for the door of this Markus fellow. Ashe could only follow, Dont at her heels.

 

Inien knocked at the door and they heard a scrambling within, followed by shouts.

 

“No Gregor, let me get it. It might be Kyl'il!”

 

“But I wanna answer the door!”

 

“Gregor let me-”

 

“Markuuuus-!”

 

“SHUT UP THE PAIR OF YOU!”

 

Ashe exchanged a look with the other two, raising an eyebrow.

 

The door opened before any more could be exchanged and before them stood a tall, willowy man with a handsome face and rather pretty hair, if Ashe thought so, even if he had a small set of horns. He draped himself against the door frame and smiled winningly at the trio before him. “Ladies. I see word has spread. Markus Velafi, a true pleasure to meet such jewels.” He swooped forwards before Ashe could react, snatching up her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. His skin felt much warmer to the touch than she would have expected, his lips more so, and she couldn’t help the slight flush that appeared across her cheeks. Even if he promptly pressed a kiss to Dont’s slightly furred hand and to Inien’s. Inien was grinning again and Dont was peeking behind the tall figure of Markus as he straightened back up. “So, how may I help you lovely ladies on this beautiful afternoon?”

 

“Uh, well.” Ashe scrambled to gather her thoughts, trying not to rub the back of her hand where he’d kissed. What was it with these people and her hands?

 

“Markus? Can I look now, or are you going to keep kissing people who aren’t Kyl'il?”

 

Markus stiffened up. “Gregor not now.”

 

DDont stood on tiptoes to see past Markus and waved. “Hi! I’m Dont.”

 

A shorter man ducked under Markus and beamed at them. “I’m Gregor Hartway! Hi! It’s so nice meeting new people.”

 

“I’m Aesling. We’re the people just next door.” Ashe spoke up, a smile on her face for the moment. Gregor’s smile seemed to be as infectious as Kier’s. Then again, today had been nothing but smiles for her so far.

 

“Would you mind if I called you Ashe?” Markus asked with a winning smile of his own, blue eyes seeming to glint just a little.

 

“Please do.”

 

“I’m Inien. Who was the loud one shouting?” Inien was trying to peek around the bouncing pair of Gregor and Dont, both of whom seemed far too excited to meet each other for some reason. It was really cute, though.

 

“That? Oh that was Thog. He’s grumpy.” Gregor said knowledgeably, sticking his hands on his hips. “But he’s okay.”

 

“Thog?” Ashe found the name kind of ridiculous sounding, lips twitching up as she fought to keep the amusement out of her voice. She failed miserably.

 

“Yeah. Got a problem with my name?” Quite suddenly, there was a third person in the doorway, looming over them despite being shorter than Markus and slouching with his hands in his pockets. It was the threat in his voice and the near dead expression in his eyes when he said it that put Ashe on edge instantly. She straightened up and her hand hovered at her side for the non-existent sword she’d been so used to carrying back on Meathe, but were banned here in this place of learning. Her fingers closed around nothing, but she still saw him twitch slightly at the movement, eyes sliding to focus on her alone. She met his gaze head on, gold meeting black and she refused to back down.

 

There was no response to his question, but her senses prickled as she felt something stir in Inien and Markus.

 

“…Didn’t think so,” Thog drawled, eyes not leaving Ashe as he backed up, gaze only breaking when he turned away to retreat back into the flat.

 

Ashe watched him go, relaxing a little as she felt whatever Inien and Markus had called on fade away again. She turned to look at Markus. “Your roommate is a delight,” she said dryly.

 

“He… takes some getting used to.” Markus agreed awkwardly.

 

“Hey, how about your guys come back to ours?” Dont offered, perking up and piercing the tense atmosphere. “We’ve got muffins! And I baked cookies earlier!”

 

Gregor looked like his birthday had come early, turning to Markus with large pleading eyes. “Can we?”

 

“I don’t see why not.” Markus grinned, before it slipped slightly. “We should probably ask-”

 

“Not interested!” came the yell from inside the flat.

 

“…Guess it’s just the two of us then.” Markus smiled again. “Lead on, friends.”

 

Inien took a step back. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna invite Kier and Charth over-”

 

“Charoth.” Ashe corrected, rolling her eyes but smiling slightly all the same. “His name is Charoth. But yeah, sure. We’ll leave the door open.”

 

And so that was how they came to spend the next few hours, laughing, getting to know each other, and gorging themselves on Donts freshly baked goods. She even put on a fresh batch of cookies to bake while they were over. At some point, Kyl'il joined them and Ashe was treated to the sight of Markus all but swooning over a flaming headed spiritfolk who just seemed vaguely amused by the tiefling’s attraction.

 

As she tumbled into bed that night, a wide smile on her face and no trace of home sickness in her heart, Ashe could safely say that her first day away from home had been a roaring success.


	2. Chapter 2

-0-

 

Ashe awoke with her alarm bright and early the next day, feeling refreshed and the kind of nervous excitement that can only come when nearing some long awaited event. Her first class was to be today: the first real taste of her education outside of Meathe. She threw off the bedcovers and hauled a set of clean clothes from her wardrobe, tossing them on. Green sleeveless top, blue jeans, brown boots. Perfect. The white mop of hair got a brief moment of attention, Ashe running her fingers through it to loosen the tangles before she fluffed it up and sprayed a little hair spray to keep it the way she liked it. She snagged her pre-packed bag from where it sat by the door, and her headphones too, sliding them around her neck beside the jingling tags she wore there. Only then did she head out into the main area for breakfast.

 

Dont seemed to have been up and gone already. A note left from her beside two stacks of pancakes said she’d meet Ashe and Inien in class; she had some things to take care of first. Ashe left the note beside Inien’s stack and helped herself to the other, good mood simply rocketing skywards as she ate the delicious breakfast. As she was onto the last pancake, Inien’s door slammed open and Inien appeared, still wrapped in her moon and star patterned pyjamas. The girl was barely visible under the messy tangle of black hair as she made her way to the coffee machine and started brewing herself a mug.

 

Ashe couldn’t help but be amused, just a little, as Inien carried the steaming mug of black liquid back to her room, slippered feet shuffling along the carpeted floor. “Don’t forget we’ve got class soon!” Ashe called after her, grinning just a bit when the bedroom door slammed shut in response.

 

-0-

 

She hurried along the corridor of classrooms, ducking and weaving her way between other students who were rushing to classes with nervous looks, and some who just looked plain lost. The map in her hand had said the class was two doors ahead, which should be – ah yes, right there. She opened the door and ducked inside the classroom. To her surprise, it was mostly empty, only one or two people sitting scattered around. At least it gave her free choice of seats. She climbed up the staircase to the side and shuffled along one of the middle rows, dropping herself into one of the centre seats. Perfect view, good start, Ashe thought to herself, getting out her paper pad and pens.

 

Time seemed to drag by as she waited for others to arrive, the few minutes seeming like an agonising wait. She ended up doodling a small Meathe on the corner of a piece of paper, losing herself in recalling the home she’d abandoned for this.

 

She didn’t realise someone was beside her until she heard their bag thump down onto the little desk and she had to fight back the urge to recoil in surprise. She looked at the bag’s owner and was surprised to see Markus grinning at her instead of the expected Dont or Inien. The spindly tiefling slid into the seat to her right. “Hello again Ashe. You’re looking fine this morning.”

 

“Uh…” She was saved from having to deal with that compliment by the sudden presence of another person on her left. She turned to see who it was only to be shocked when gold met black again. Thog stared at her, as if daring her to say something about his choice of seating. Ashe couldn’t think of a single thing. Which wasn’t helpful when Thog opened his mouth.

 

“What?” he demanded grouchily, frowning at her.

 

Ashe’s good mood vanished in a second and before she knew what she was doing, she’d growled, “Fuck off Thog.”

 

“Fuck you too Ashe.” Thog growled back, turning to his bag and resolutely refusing to move away despite the delightful greeting.

 

Ashe felt mildly bad for just cursing at him but then after yesterday’s rough greeting and this rather strange decision to seat himself beside her, she wasn’t all that inclined to be nice to a stranger infringing on her personal space.

 

Beside her, Markus shifted in his seat. “So, uh… History. Great first class.” He cleared his throat. “I for one am looking forwards to learning more about the history of the Free Isles. If I wasn’t intending on going down the magical theory route, I’d probably take history as my major.”

 

That seemed like an interesting conversation at least. Ashe abandoned glaring ineffectually at Thog and turned to Markus, ignoring his roommate entirely as she focused on the other. “Magical theory? That sounds pretty interesting.”

 

“I certainly hope so, otherwise it’s going to be a waste of my time.” Markus laughed. “I intend to become the most amazing sorcelock of all time, and for that I’m going to need a lot of theoretical knowledge-”

 

“Wait, sorcelock?” Ashe was no mage but she was quite sure there was no such thing. “That’s not a real thing is it?”

 

“No, but it will be when I’m done with it.” He winked at her, blue eyes shining with mirth, and Ashe couldn’t help but grin back at him. “What about you, what are you in for?”

 

“Well, just the basic first year so far. I don’t know if I’ll be here after that.” Ashe shrugged. “But… I wouldn’t mind staying on. Just have to prove to my family back home that I can do it, you know?”

 

Markus’ gaze hardened fractionally though it wasn’t directed at her. His eyes focused on something in the distance, some memory of his own home perhaps. “Yeah. I know.” He murmured, before he seemed to come back, the air of friendliness returning. “I think you can pull it off.”

 

“I’d like to think so too,” Ashe agreed, right before the seats in front of her were filled with familiar faces. Gregor, Dont and Charoth all took their seats and turned back to face the row behind them, exchanging hellos and smiles. Aside from Charoth who simply sat in silence. Ashe signed him a quiet ‘hi’ and got a shy nod in return while the others chattered. They were shortly joined by Inien and Kier, Inien taking the seat beside Dont and Kier dropping down beside Markus. More greetings were exchanged and Dont offered around a packet of cinnamon drops before their attention was drawn by a loud thump against the lectern at the front of the room. The room fell silent, and Ashe quickly popped her sweet into her mouth, settling down for the first lecture.

 

“Good morning!” said the slightly portly man standing before the class. “And welcome to your first day at the Free Isles University! As it’s your first day of your first class, I’ll take it easy on you all, give you time to settle in. My name is Professor Aften, but you can just drop the professor part, I don’t mind…”

 

-0-

 

The first class lasted for three hours, with a short break in the middle. Honestly Ashe had found it quite interesting, though the professor left something to be desired. She got the distinct impression from the slightly bumbling way he’d gone about giving the lecture that he wasn’t all that competent. After that, it was time for lunch, and before Ashe could even think of picking out somewhere to dine, Markus had slid his arm through hers and was dragging her off back to the student dorms, mentioning something about a cafeteria and bar on the bottom floor of their building. Since they seemed to be joined by the entire group of people she’d met recently, she saw no reason to withdraw from the company.

 

She did rather wish Thog would stop glowering at her though. She swore she could feel his heated gaze on the back of her head the entire walk back to Nine Shrines, arm in arm with Markus and Gregor, who’d jumped up on her left and kidnapped that arm still as happy and bouncy as ever. If only some of that cheerfulness would rub off on Thog, she thought wishfully as Markus talked her ear off about some of the classes he was looking forwards to taking this year and the following ones.

 

The cafeteria wasn’t overly large, taking up a decent section of the basement floor, and through a set of double doors Ashe could see the bar area that took up the rest of the level. She’d have to remember this place; she’d always fancied trying alcohol for herself. Back home, she’d only been allowed to watch as the others around her drank and made merry, unable to join in their festivities even that much.

 

She was dragged out of her thoughts of home by Gregor pulling her over to a table in the corner, the others splitting up to either follow them or join in the small queue for food. “Come on Ashe, we’ll save the seats.” He hopped over a chair to snag the one in the very corner, ponytail bouncing behind him as he went. She took up the seat next to him, deciding that he wouldn’t be so bad to sit beside, especially compared to Thog. Thankfully it was Markus again who took up the other seat beside her instead of Thog, soon joined by the others with trays of food. Table safely claimed, Gregor and Ashe wormed their way through the gaggle of people and collected their own food. It wasn’t anywhere near the fancy food she’d grown used to on Meathe but it was edible, even tasty, and that was all that mattered to Ashe.

 

Over the meal, the topic of the classes was brought up and discussed at length. Opposite Ashe, Thog made some muttered comment about needing to hit the library for a textbook, and there were groans and nods of acceptance as they all realised they’d need to do the exact same thing if they didn’t want to try and find a copy of the book to buy. Ashe put it to the back of her mind, electing to do it tomorrow instead of rushing off to do it before the next class.

 

Just as the group was drawing to the end of the meal and considering moving off to find their next classroom, Markus cleared his throat loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “Any plans this evening?” he asked the group at large, receiving a general buzz of no in return. “Excellent. Then you’ll all be joining us tonight.”

 

Thog’s eyes narrowed, right as Gregor blinked and questioned, “Tonight…?”

 

“That’s right. Tonight, my friends, we shall celebrate surviving the first day of our university career!” He held up his bottle of water like it was some kind of chalice, toasting the heavens with tap water. “We shall drink and dance and it will be a delight for all involved, who’s with me?”

 

Gregor, surprisingly, cheered the loudest, alongside Kier and Dont, while the others made some kind of affirmative noise, just nowhere near as loud as that trio. Ashe laughed behind her hand and nodded. “Sure, Markus. I’ll come.”

 

Markus’ eyes met hers and she could have sworn for a second they gleamed in delight.

 

-0-

 

Ashe was kicking off her boots in the living room, home after the second class, when she felt hands in her hair. “Uh-”

 

“I don’t understand your hair.”

 

“…Inien why are you playing with my hair?” Ashe tilted her head back to look at her roommate standing behind the couch she was sitting on, eyebrow raised. Considering where she was from, she wasn’t all that unused to people grabbing at her in an effort to make her look more like something she wasn’t in order to appease the general public. She wasn’t really a fan but she didn’t exactly want to anger Inien by telling her to go away when she already had handfuls of her hair to grip.

 

“I was trying to see what magic you used to get it like that.” Inien grinned and toyed with a fluffy lock of hair, curling it around her finger before her ran her fingers through the thick mop. “It’s so soft.”

 

Ashe had to fight not to relax as those fingers ran through her hair, leaning into the touch despite herself. “Yes, well… it’s not magic.”

 

“And it feels like it was cut pretty recently. You get that done at the same time as these?” The fingertips of Inien’s other hand grazed lightly over the bindings on her upper arm and the relaxed feeling vanished from Ashe, replaced by one of intense wariness.

 

“No.” She swallowed and tried to edge away from the fingers brushing over the skin of her arm. “Those are… old.”

 

“And the haircut?” Inien didn’t stop touching her, fingers still stroking through white hair and over pale skin, the sly grin on her lips echoed in her eyes.

 

Almost the same colour as mine, Ashe thought absently. “New… why?”

 

“I like it,” Inien said in a stage whisper, leaning down. Her thumb brushed over a binding, pressing down firmly on the blue ink. Ashe felt something react within her, akin to the powers she called on at home but different in the way it burned through her. She flushed pink about her cheeks as she realised what it was and what exactly Inien was doing. She froze up, staring up at Inien as she seemed to draw closer, taking up Ashe’s entire view. “And… I think I’d like to know what you have under here.” Inien stroked over the bindings again and Ashe twitched in response, feeling the rush again.

 

The sound of a card key in the door saved her, and Inien let her go, vanishing from her sight as Dont stepped into the flat. Ashe sucked in a breath, cheeks red and feeling slightly lightheaded as Dont waved from the door and hurried past to her room. When she looked, it seemed as though Inien had vanished to her own as well, leaving Ashe to recover from the strange incident alone. She sat there for several long minutes getting in control of herself, slowing her breathing and trying not to imagine what would have happened if Inien had gotten any closer.

 

It was only after she’d calmed down that she realised she only had about half an hour to get ready for Markus’ party. Swearing, she abandoned her boots in the living area and hurried to her room, shutting the door and hurrying to find something to wear that didn’t scream ‘I have never been to a party before’.

 

-0-

 

She made it with a few minutes to spare, dressed in a figure hugging green tank top with a decorative design in a colour that matched her bindings, clean jeans, and her boots from earlier. It wasn’t anything fancy but it was nice enough, in her mind, for a small party between friends.

 

Dont and Inien were ready to go when she entered the living room, Inien with her long hair straightened and shining, a blue and gold clip in her hair to keep it pinned back. The two of them were wearing shorts, Dont a pair of brown jeans shorts with a red cropped top and Inien a pair of black cyclist’s shorts under a loose flowing top. When Inien spotted her, she sent Ashe a wide grin and a wink so quick that Ashe wasn’t sure she’d really seen it. Dont certainly hadn’t spotted anything amiss.

 

They left together, slipping out one door to knock on the one just to the right. They could hear the music through it, loud and fast, and Ashe felt excitement growing in her at the thought of attending her first real party, where she would be able to actually take part and enjoy herself.

 

The door was hauled open and loud music assaulted them. Ashe couldn’t help but grin up at Kier, who was beaming back at them. “Hello!” he all but bellowed over the music. He turned to the side and grabbed something off the unit to his side, turning back to show them what it was. “Welcome to the party!” he pressed a lurid green drink into each of their hands and ushered them inside, saying, “I made them myself! I call this one Green Lightning!” He grinned and drank half of one in a single gulp, seeming not to mind the green sparkles it set off in the glass. Ashe looked over at the unit and saw there was a myriad of jugs and pitchers sitting there, each with a different coloured drink inside, some of them looking somewhat magical in that some sparkled, or bubbled. One even looked to be on fire.

 

She took one look at the Green Lightning in her hand and grinned, taking a gulp. It hit her with a sizzle and a jolt, much like one of her own guidances. “Whoa…” she coughed, looking at the drink in surprise. “Wow Kier, that’s really… something!”

 

“I know right?” Kier beamed at her and clapped her on the back with a large hand. “Help yourself to anything! I’m gonna go make more!” And off he went to the breakfast bar to play with alcohol. Inien grinned and followed him, untouched drink in hand. Ashe turned to Dont, wondering what she thought of the drink only to find that Dont had vanished into the small crowd that Markus had managed to squeeze into this place. Ashe was kind of amazed, actually.

 

She wormed her way through the people everywhere, smiling as she met Kyl'il’s eyes over the back of Charoth’s head. Before she could head over to say hi, someone bumped into her. She managed to save her drink from being spilled at least, the liquid sloshing about in the glass but staying inside. She couldn’t say the same for the other person’s drink, catching sight of a white shirt stained pink and purple, sparkling faintly as the drink soaked into it and the black waistcoat that sat atop it. “Oh gods, sorry, I didn’t see you-”

 

“Of course not, why would you Ashe?” came the monotonous, snarky reply. Only then did Ashe realise she’d bumped into Thog. His black eyes glowered at her, bright with annoyance. “Why would you see me standing right here, in front of your face?”

 

Ashe felt her good mood vanish once again, a talent Thog just seemed to possess. “It’s not like I covered you in drink deliberately Thog. Believe me, if I had I would have been aiming for your face.”

 

“Oh wow, real ladylike of you Ashe.” Thog sighed, rubbing at his glittering, stained shirt. “Fuck. This was my favourite shirt.”

 

Despite the annoyance welling up in her, Ashe felt slightly guilty when she heard that. “Sorry. I really didn’t mean – I can replace it, I know that won’t replace the sentimental value but-”

 

“Don’t. I’ll replace it myself. It’s just a white shirt.” Thog shifted uncomfortably. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go change. Don’t spill anything else while I’m gone.”

 

Ashe stood still as he brushed past her, catching a whiff of him as he passed, a mixture of the freshly spilled drink and whatever soap he’d used earlier. Her eyes fluttered shut and she found herself inhaling a little deeper in the hopes of catching it again but the moment was gone, Thog stalking off to his bedroom to change out of his soiled clothing. She opened her eyes, mentally berating herself for the accident and for being weird, taking refuge in the glass in her hand. Some part of Ashe’s mind warned against drinking too much, that she had no idea what her limit would be, while another part darkly murmured that it was entirely possible she didn’t have a limit thanks to, well, things. Before she realised it, the glass was empty and she was heading to the unit covered in pitchers for a refill. This time she chose a vibrant blue drink, fizzing gently as she poured it into her glass. As she raised it to her lips, she caught the scent of something sharp, cold almost. It was echoed across her taste buds when she drank it, eyes widening as she tasted what she could only assume was crushed snow and mint, a winter’s chilled climate taking up residence in her mouth. She swallowed and pulled the glass away from her mouth to stare at it in amazement. Kier certainly knew how to brew a drink.

 

“Ashe!”

 

The familiar voice had her turning around, only to see Markus bedecked in what she could only describe as a blue sequined, glittering shirt and – gods, was that a cape? It was, just as sequined on the inside as the shirt. Ashe took one look at him and passed Markus her drink. “Here, the colour suits you more,” she said, unable to help staring.

 

Markus laughed and held up a corner of the cape in one hand and the drink in the other, comparing the shades. “It does go nicely, doesn’t it?” he said, before dropping the cape and trying the drink. “Wow, now that’s got a kick to it!”

 

“Does it? I hadn’t noticed.” Ashe admitted, not entirely surprised.

 

“Really?” Markus gazed at her curiously. “Not even a little? You must have a strong liver Ashe, Kier’s been making powerful drinks since he arrived, there’s nothing even remotely weak here.”

 

“Well, so long as they taste good, I’m gonna keep drinking.” Ashe reached for a fresh cup and selected another colour, a bright drink that matched the one Thog had spilled down himself. Tasting it led to an explosion of berries and fruits across her tongue, the likes of which she’d never tasted on Meathe, and she couldn’t help but moan quietly at the taste. Eyes shut, she didn’t notice Markus eyeing her interestedly. By the time she opened them again, half the glass was gone and so was the expression from Markus’ face. He clinked his glass against hers.

 

“To friends!” he toasted, before taking a deep drink of the blue liquid. Ashe echoed him and drank the remaining half of her glass. As she swallowed the last drop, Ashe felt Markus’ arm slid around her shoulder. Before she could grab another refill, Markus was leading her around and introducing her to other people on their floor. Ashe said hello to many faces she was quite sure she wasn’t going to remember for more than a few minutes.

 

At some point, she managed to disentangle herself from Markus on the excuse of going to the bathroom. He gave her some vague directions but she was fairly sure she could figure it out, the flat was small and set out in a mirror image of her own. She edged through the throng of people, escaping into the relatively less crowded corridor. All the doors were closed and there was no real indication of which door was which. She took a guess and picked at random, grabbing at the handle and stepping in. Instead of being treated to whatever chaotic mess of a bathroom that belonged to the trio living here, she was given the sight of a shirtless someone fiddling with the buttons of the black trousers he wore.

 

It wasn’t until he turned around that she realised it was Thog, and by then she was already staring, eyes drinking in the toned, somewhat tanned form, following the faint trail of dark hair down, down, into the unfastened trousers where she glimpsed the top curls of a darker, coarser hair…

 

“…You know, usually people knock before they barge into someone’s private bedroom.” Thog interrupted her staring by finishing the fastening up of his trousers. “And usually people know that it’s rude to stare.”

 

Ashe, to her credit, turned a vivid shade of pink and averted her gaze to the ceiling, slightly too late to avoid what she’d seen. “Sorry! Sorry, I was just – I was looking for the bathroom-”

 

“Really?” Thog smirked faintly, not that Ashe could see it with her fixation upon the ceiling. “Cause it seemed to me you were just looking for something to stare at.”

 

“Gods Thog, if I was looking for eye candy I’d have-” Ashe dropped her gaze again meaning to glare him into submission but frankly she got distracted by the bare chest again, her hormonal body reminding her that she’d been sorely lacking for company of this sort her entire life and the incident with Inien hadn’t helped her recover from that at all. This was just torture.

 

Thog waited for her to finish, raising an eyebrow when he was left hanging. He moved to grab the clean shirt from his bed where it had been sitting, well aware of Ashe’s eyes following his every move. He was almost tempted to leave the shirt off, this kind of attention was threatening to inflate his ego. Still, if he wanted to really go back to the party, he was going to have to get Ashe to stop staring and get out of his room. So on went the shirt, though he did spend an agonisingly long time fastening each button and fixing the collar.

 

Ashe just kept watching. A little voice in the back of her mind nagged at her that this was weird, terribly rude, that she’d get in trouble for this if it were back on Meathe – but a dark little voice whispered back that well we’re not on Meathe anymore, are we? Who says we can’t enjoy the scenery, and sample it too…

 

Thog shoved his hands in his pockets when he was done, looking over at her. “Well. You going back to the party? Or you wanna stare some more?”

 

Ashe, bright pink again, was about to answer when through the flat ripped an explosive noise, swiftly followed by screams from beyond the door. It shook the whole building and before Ashe was fully aware of what she was doing, she had a handful of green lightning crackling in her right hand, body positioned between Thog and the door as though expecting something to come through it. Alarms started blaring through the building. “What was that?!” Ashe yelled over the noise, backing up to stand closer to Thog.

 

“Dunno, but that’s the fire alarm!” Thog eyed the lightning in her hand warily before deciding that whatever it was couldn’t be as bad as whatever had caused the explosion. “We should get out of here!”

 

Ashe gritted her teeth, wishing she’d thought to smuggle in some kind of weapon just in case. She wasn’t ready to unleash enough of her bindings to summon a weapon just yet, not until she saw a valid threat. It would cost her too much. She nodded to Thog. “Keep close, don’t go running off till I know what happened, just in case.”

 

“God Ashe, you look like you’re expecting something to have gotten in.” Thog wasn’t nearly so suspicious. It was probably just something mundane: someone playing with fireworks or something. Monsters and the like hadn’t been seen in these parts for years - it was supposed to be the safest place in the Free Isles.

 

“You can never tell. Come on.” She moved to the door and opened it slowly, sticking her head out into the smoke filled hall. She could still hear people yelling outside the flat, the corridor filled with the sounds of fleeing students and alarms sounding the evacuation of the building. Thog stayed behind her as they inched along the hall, trying not to breathe in the acrid fumes too deeply. The electricity had been cut off the moment the alarms sounded, and the only light to guide them lay in the ball of lightning Ashe held in her palm, the green-white tendrils flickering and curling around her fingers as though it were a living thing. It gave Thog the creeps, whatever that stuff was.

 

They saw an orange glow coming from the main room and Ashe peeked around the corner, spying the source in the kitchen area. Smoke and fire poured from the brewing equipment Kier had set up in there, and silhouetted against the flames she could see Kier himself trying frantically to tame the fire. It grew larger despite his efforts and Ashe’s eyes widened as she saw the flames spread along the bench, reaching the drinks Kier had already made up but hadn’t served.

 

“KIER!” The lightning in her hand vanished and she bolted across the small flat, snagged the back of Kier’s top, and used all her considerable strength to throw Kier over the counter into the safety of the living room. The fire reached the drinks just as Kier’s wide blue eyes met hers, and they exploded with a roar and a force that sent her into the counter she’d just thrown Kier over. The breath was knocked from her and she swore she could feel the heat in her very lungs, all around her, burning her skin. Ashe hit the floor, ears ringing, nose filled with the scent of burning hair and whatever else was on fire, choking on the fumes. She lay there stunned, staring at the kitchen floor for a long moment before she felt hands grab her and lift her onto her feet. Thog’s face swam before her vision and she could tell he was saying something. His mouth was moving but she couldn’t hear a word. He seemed to gather as much and he held her around the waist, making for the exit with Kier in tow.

 

The world swam uncomfortably until they reached the outside, where the cold chill of rain hitting her skin brought her back. She blinked and coughed, inhaling fresh, cold air, surprised to see Thog still holding her upright and Kier looking intensely guilty and upset. The rest of what appeared to be the entire student population of Nine Shrines was out in the rain with them, talking loudly around the emergency gathering point. Ashe picked up the sound of approaching sirens from the distance, her hearing apparently coming back now. She turned to Thog and laid a hand on his arm, still around her. “You can let go now.” She said lowly, voice slightly rough from inhaling the smoke.

 

Thog considered her carefully before he let her support her own weight, releasing her. He didn’t seem to notice the rain pouring down on them despite the fact he was in a thin shirt which was swiftly becoming soaked through. Ashe wasn’t really faring any better. “You sure you’re not gonna go off and do something stupid like that again?” he asked lightly.

 

Ashe couldn’t help herself. She laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

-0-

 

They’d been forced to stand out in the rain for over an hour by the time they were allowed back in. In that time, Ashe had to endure Kier’s guilty puppy expression, Markus’ fussing, Thog’s quiet teasing, and Inien’s repeated questions of where she’d vanished to when the explosion had happened. She didn’t mind most of it. Thog’s teasing was well deserved since she probably shouldn’t have hurled Kier away and took the blast; she should have gotten out the way as well. Markus’ fussing was easily deflected when she showed him that she was already looking better, the angry red of her lightly scorched back fading under the cool rain. Though from the way Thog was regarding her she knew he was wondering if it had something to do with the power she’d shown before. Kier’s puppy face and apologies were harder to get rid of, especially since he was claiming he’d no idea what had gone wrong - that his drink mixture had never done that before and he must have made it a million times and-

 

“Kier, stop.” Ashe said firmly, gripping his forearms tight. He winced, his own burned skin flaring in pain and Ashe had to stop herself both from gripping tighter and from healing him up immediately. She didn’t dare when there were so many others around, especially Inien and Markus. Inien already knew something was up and Markus was smart enough to pick up on it if she showed too much of herself. “Look, it was an accident. It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad we got out of there in time to avoid disaster. But stop apologising. I’m alright, and so are you.” She hesitated before continuing, “You should come see me after you’ve seen the damage to your flat. I think I have something for the burns.”

 

Kier nodded, perking up a little as the words finally got through to him. He was tugged aside by a concerned looking Gregor, and Inien took up Kier’s spot in front of Ashe, albeit much closer than he had been. Ashe almost jumped at how close Inien got, flinching when her flatmate grabbed her arm and spun her around to get a better look at the reddened skin across the backs of her arms and neck. It didn’t help that she had a tight grip on the spot right where the bindings were, drawing up sensations that were entirely out of place in the current situation. Inien didn’t let go.

 

Thog’s eyes narrowed as he watched Ashe’s cheeks grow pinker and the usual confidence in her posture turn into something more uncertain.

 

“It’s not so bad,” Inien said, unaware of the light flush growing over Ashe’s face. “Doesn’t look like more than a light sunburn. Shame I don’t have any healing magic, I could have fixed you up in a second.” She shrugged and let Ashe go, fingers trailing down from the bindings, across her rain dampened skin.

 

Ashe shivered.

 

Thog’s eyes narrowed.

 

Inien grinned at Thog over Ashe’s shoulder, deciding she was rather going to enjoy being around these people.

 

-0-

 

By the time they got inside again, Ashe just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep it off, preferably while clutching something hot and soft. Instead she had to settle for warm pyjamas and made herself a mug of hot chocolate to sip while she waited around in the living room for Kier to arrive. Inien thankfully had retired for the night, along with Dont, so it was just her when the knock came. She set down the half empty mug and slowly got up to let in Kier. Only it wasn’t Kier.

 

“Thog?” Ashe blinked at him in surprise. He’d changed out of his soaking wet clothes into some dry ones, but his hair was still damp and messy from the rain.

 

“Ashe.” Thog shifted, glancing up the corridor before looking back at her. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

 

“Sure?” Ashe already had a feeling she knew what this was about as she let him in. The door swung closed behind him, though Ashe never heard the lock click, and instead of moving further into the flat he elected stand by the door and look at her for a moment or two, black eyes taking in her form.

 

“…Really? Bunny slippers?” He teased.

 

“Fuck off Thog,” she replied, but there was no real heat there.

 

His lips twitched in what may have been a smile before he resumed his serious expression. “What was that tonight?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ashe denied, tension coiling in her gut. She looked away, gazing at the wall just behind his head instead of directly at him.

 

“Don’t lie Ashe. The green stuff. I’ve been around a lot of magic users, I’ve never seen that before. What did you think was going on?”

 

“Nothing, I – look it’s not magic okay?” Ashe replied testily, avoiding the question.

 

“Sure as hell looked like magic to me Ashe. It was lightning and it was green and you held it like it was an apple, not some force of nature.” Thog frowned at her. “What’s going on, what are you hiding?”

 

“Thog, not now okay? You have to forget what you saw.” Ashe kept her voice low, glancing back to the living room in case one of the other girls had gotten up. Inien, she especially didn’t want to hear this. “Don’t tell anyone. Please.”

 

“Tell anyone what, that you can do magic?” He looked somewhat perplexed. “There are lots of people who can do magic here.”

 

“It’s not magic!” she whispered furiously. “Just – just forget it, please!”

 

“Alright.” Thog held up his hands, giving in to her. “I won’t tell anyone about the freaky magic-not-magic.”

 

The tension coiled in Ashe’s gut unwound a little at that, leaving her as a relieved sigh. “Alright. Thank you. I just-”

 

The door burst open behind Thog, knocking into his back and sending him crashing into Ashe with an “Oof!” from the man in question. Ashe found herself on her back on the floor, Thog’s bulk half atop her. She stared up at him, the pair of them slightly dazed by the fall as a loud voice reached their ears.

 

“Hey Ashe your door was open!” Kier boomed, apparently forgetting the late hour. He looked down, raising an eyebrow when he saw Thog pushing himself back onto his knees, sitting between Ashe’s legs. “Uh…I can come back later if you guys want some privacy – you might wanna lock your door for that though. Or use your bedroom. Y’know, just a suggestion.”

 

Thog’s face darkened as Ashe spluttered and sat up. “No! No that’s not – we weren’t – he was just – you opened the door and it hit him, and he crashed into me!”

 

“Uh huh, sure.” Kier grinned knowingly, sending Ashe a wink and what he thought was a sly thumbs up.

 

Ashe had to grab Thog’s shoulder to stop him getting up and punching Kier’s grin off his face. “Hey, don’t – look, Kier, nothing happened. It was an accident, and that’s all.”

 

“Sure.” Kier shrugged, clearly not believing her but willing to let it go. “So about that burns stuff…”

 

Ashe got to her feet, dusted herself off and motioned to the couch. “You’re gonna want to sit for this Kier. Thog, you can stay, since you… saw earlier. But this doesn’t leave this room, got it?”

 

Curiosity growing, Thog agreed to secrecy and Kier just shrugged again. “Sure. Whatever works for you.” He took a seat, trying not to rub at the red skin across his forearms. “Is it like a cream or something?”

 

“Not quite.” Ashe shook her head, fighting back a smile as she went to stand before him. “Give me your arms.”

 

Trustingly, Kier did so. Thog leaned in a little closer to watch. Ashe gripped his forearms tight, ignoring his wince, and from her hands green electricity crackled and rushed over Kier’s burnt skin. Both Thog and Kier watched, open mouthed as the angry red, blistered skin was soothed and healed under the white-green light. Kier even felt the burns across his nose and cheeks ease and the skin become less tight and painful, fading entirely as Ashe worked her magic. As the lightning withdrew and the light faded, Kier’s skin stayed the healthy colour it had turned. Ashe let him go, and Kier ran a hand over his forearm, eyes wide.

 

“Wow… that was some awesome magic,” he commented, a grin growing on his face.

 

“It’s not magic, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. Especially not Inien or Markus,” Ashe said firmly. “Promise me Kier.”

 

“I swear I won’t tell,” Kier promised, looking up at her, blue eyes wide. “Why are you hiding it, though?”

 

“It just… it’s just something I need to do. For now.” Ashe was nowhere near ready to start explaining who or what she was to people she’d only known for a few days. Not yet. “Just please, keep this between the three of us.”

 

“Don’t worry about it Ashe. I won’t say a word,” Thog murmured, eyes on Ashe.

 

“We can keep a secret,” Kier promised. Ashe could only hope they could.

 

-0-

 

The next day, Ashe afforded herself a little longer in bed since she had the whole morning off before the afternoon class. After last night, she thought she deserved it. Granted she hadn’t really planned on using her powers or telling anyone what she was this first year, at least, but the events of last night had forced her hand. Maybe she hadn’t really needed to use any in front of Thog during the first explosion, but it had been instinct to protect and defend which had driven her to draw on her power. Luckily both that and the healing hadn’t drawn too much from her; a mere splinter and one that would heal fast enough with rest.

 

Still, she had an errand to run before she had class, and an important one. There was a book she needed to collect for after class reading, and what with a day of classes before and a night of partying and chaos, she’d had no time before. Now was the only time to do it before class. So it was with great reluctance that she dragged herself from bed and dressed, ruffling her hair into submission and hair spraying it when she deemed it ‘okay enough’. Only then did she leave her room, ignoring Inien sprawled out on the couch channel surfing and heading out.

 

She had to duck past workmen going in and out of the flat next door, most likely repairing the damage from Kier’s accident. She could smell new paint coming from inside the flat as she passed and she wondered if Markus had gotten any say on what colour was going up. If he had his way it would probably be something glittery.

 

It was nearing midday as she reached the campus library, sliding her student ID through the turnstile which beeped and opened to let her through. She headed right for the nearest catalogue computer, searching up the title of the book she needed, ‘The History of The Shrouded Isles: The Rise and Fall of Grius and its Repopulation.’ The ancient computer took a few second to search and Ashe took a moment to look around her, eyeing up the impressive stacks of books surrounding her. All sorts of knowledge was contained here; she couldn’t help but wonder if they had anything on what she was.

 

A quiet chime sounded from the computer, drawing Ashe’s attention. Only one left in the library; all other copies were gone. Well that wasn’t so bad if she could just get to it before anyone else did. She copied down the reference number onto the back of her hand with a nearby pen and went for a browse among the shelves, trying to find the right section.

 

“D-450, D-449, D-448, there it is,” Ashe murmured to herself, slipping between the bookshelves and eyeing up the tomes lining the shelves there. Her fingers ran across the spins of books as she walked along the shelves, inhaling the scent of paper and leather, glue and ink. There were new books here, and ancient ones. Half of them appeared to be covered with dust, untouched for ages. She dragged her fingers through the dust there, leaving her mark on the ages, absently wondering how long it would be before the tracks she made would be covered by the passage of time.

 

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the other person in the aisle till she’d walked into them. Stumbling back, she uttered an apology and then had to fight back a smile when she saw who it was. Thog was rolling his eyes, though his lips did twitch faintly. “We have to stop meeting like this,” he drawled, tucking the book he was carrying under one arm.

 

“It is getting a little repetitive,” Ashe agreed with a smile, eyeing him curiously. “What are you here for?”

 

“Book for class, you know. The History one.” He tapped at the hard cover of the book and Ashe caught a glimpse of the cover, realising as she did so that it was the very book she needed.

 

“Huh. Me too. Don’t suppose you saw another copy, or is that the only one left in the catalogue?” she asked, well aware that it was the only one left. Considering the way Thog’s grip tightened slightly on the text, she figured he knew about that as well.

 

“It was the only one,” he muttered. “Sorry Ashe, guess you’ll need to magic yourself up a new one.”

 

“It’s not magic,” was the first thing out of her mouth before she caught herself. “Besides, you said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

 

“I haven’t,” Thog replied smoothly. “I never said I wouldn’t tease you about it though, miss magus.”

 

Ashe shot him a look and in return for that tease, snatched the book from his hands, stepping back out of reach with the book held behind her back. “Tease me again and I’ll just run with it,” she said, smirking up at the put out look on Thog’s face.

 

“I’d like to see you try.” He loomed over her, suddenly close enough to inhale the scent of the soap he used. She didn’t have time to do more than stiffen in surprise before he was reaching around her to snatch at the book. Instincts kicked in when his hand grazed over her wrist, and she spun away, book still in hand and a grin on her face as she danced out of reach.

 

“Come and get me then.” She wiggled the book tauntingly and hopped back another step.

 

“Ashe, come on. Give me the book,” Thog started after her, sounding bored, but he couldn’t hide the slight smile on his face.

 

“Nope.” Ashe grinned and danced back again, gold eyes alight with playfulness. “Catch me if you can.” And with that, she took off with the book, running down the aisle. Not at full speed of course; that would hardly make it fair. The sound of footfalls behind her made her grin widen, and she led Thog on a merry chase, winding through shelf after shelf. She couldn’t help but laugh, and she swore once or twice she heard Thog laugh quietly when he would try to snatch her or the book and miss. They lost their way in the shelves and tomes, the soft sounds of the library fading further behind them.

 

At some point, she had lost Thog too, she realised. She slowed to a stop, turning back the way she’d come. “Thog?” There was no sign of him. She frowned, one hand on her hip and the other loosely holding the book. She didn’t think she’d run that fast. “Thog?” she tried again, a little louder.

 

“Gotcha.” Ashe found herself spun around and pressed back against the bookshelf, Thog grinning down at her with one hand on her arm.

 

“Gods Thog, you almost gave me a heart attack!” she laughed breathlessly, chest heaving as adrenaline rushed through her form for nothing. Thog smirked at her and leaned closer, breathing a little hard himself as he trapped her against the shelf, preventing another daring escape attempt. Suddenly, Ashe was breathless for a whole other reason that was less to do with the surprise of being caught and more to do with the way Thog was looking at her, the rough fingers sliding down her forearm, and the way his breath mingled with hers. His body was warm against hers and she found herself relaxing against him, head tilting back to better look him in the eyes, and gods, the heat she saw there… it sent shivers through her and she unconsciously licked at her dry lips.

 

“Ashe,” Thog murmured, quiet voice seeming extraordinarily loud in the silence all around them. It gave her quiet pleasure to have her name be the only sound to break the silence when coming from him.

 

“Thog,” she whispered back, swearing she saw him shiver just a little.

 

“I won,” he said lowly, shifting closer, and Ashe swallowed as his thigh pressed between her own, the warmth of it seeping into her skin through their clothing.

 

“You did.” Her mouth felt so dry and heat coiled in her gut. It made it hard to get the words out. “What, did you want a prize for that?”

 

His hand slid over hers and she shivered at the play of skin on skin, till his rough fingers tugged the all but forgotten book from her hand. “Already got it.” He smirked faintly and stepped back, leaving her feeling oddly cold and disappointed.

 

She leaned against the bookshelf, the heat fading from her as Thog stepped back even further, unable to look at her. “So now what? I still need the book just as much as you.”

 

“Guess we could share in class.” He shrugged, looking down at the book. “Afterwards, I guess we’ll figure it out?”

 

“…Yeah, I guess that works.” Ashe nodded, pushing down the odd disappointment and straightening up, smoothing down her top. “Come on, back to the front desk.”

 

It took a few minutes to find the right direction to go in, the library apparently rather large as they’d just proven by running through half of it. It took a little longer to reach the front desk, even going in a straight line. When they got there however, they discovered they had another problem.

 

“What do you mean we can’t take the book out?” Thog asked through gritted teeth, glaring at the woman behind the desk who looked about as interested in helping them as Thog did on an average day.

 

“I mean it’s a reference copy. It can’t leave the library,” she said, even more monotone than the RA Ashe had met on her first day.

 

“Great.” Ashe sighed. “What now?”

 

Thog glowered at the librarian for a long minute. “Photocopier. D’ya – d’ya have a photocopier?”

 

“If you intend to photocopy this book, I’m obliged to tell you that you can only copy 20% of the text due to the copyright rights we have here at Free Isles University,” she droned. “So you can photocopy 20% of the text each, but no more.”

 

Thog made vague strangling motions with his hands but dropped them after a second and inhaled slowly. “Fine. 20%. I’ll take the first 20%. Ashe, you have the second. And we’ll just copy as much as we can of the first chapters. It’ll be fine.”

 

-0-

 

“This is not fine.” Ashe stared at the smoking, hissing copy machine in horror. “This is really bad.”

 

Thog snatched up the textbook before the copy machine burst into flame, tucking it into his waistcoat and hurriedly fastening it up. “Run. Run, just go.”

 

Ashe didn’t need telling twice. She legged it out of the library, distantly hearing the librarian yell in alarm. As Thog passed through the alarms at the front, they blared to alert all that an unauthorised book was leaving the library. Thankfully, the fire alarm kicked on in the same second so they were unimpeded as they bolted for the exit.

 

Outside in the mid-afternoon sun, they stopped by a wall and caught their breath, panting hard. Ashe made the mistake of meeting Thog’s eyes and he couldn’t resist cracking, “So do things always explode around you, Aesling?”

 

She shoved at his arm, the effect ruined by the fact that she was laughing so hard. She had to grip the arm she’d shoved at to stay upright, and Thog didn’t seem to be doing much better himself, laughing just as hard as she was.

 

It took several moments for them to gather themselves and calm down, Ashe wiping away tears of laughter and Thog double checking that the stolen book hadn’t fallen out on the run from the library. Ashe finally shook her head and looked at the clock tower on the main university building. “We’re gonna be late, unless we rush to class now.”

 

“Better run like we’re book thieves then,” Thog snarked and Ashe snorted, shaking her head. He set off at a swift jog, nothing like the sprint they’d run at during their escape, and one that was much easier on the legs. Ashe caught up beside him.

 

“You realise this means we probably can’t go back to the library for at least a month, right?” Ashe commented.

 

Thog grunted unconcernedly. “Eh, I give it two weeks. There was no cameras in there so they can’t prove it was us.”

 

“I dunno, white hair is kind of a thing people remember.” Ashe felt rather doubtful about ever being allowed back in there.

 

“Wear a hat.” Thog glanced over at her as they jogged, smirking faintly. “I’m thinking a jester hat would suit you well.”

 

“Fuck off Thog!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe just wants to shower in peace.

-0-

 

After spending the afternoon running about and then being locked up in a roasting hot class filled with Bunsen burners and chemical reactions, Ashe was ready to sink into a hot spring and stay there for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Meathe. There were no hot springs to be found, and Ashe had to settle for a shower with what looked to be terrible water pressure. Still, it was what she had and she was willing to deal with whatever came out the showerhead so long as it would get her clean. She turned on the shower and let the water heat up as she stripped off, tossing the dirty clothes in a corner. Over the radiator hung a fluffy white towel - one she was looking forwards to wrapping around herself once she was clean again. Steam began to fill the room and she took that as her cue to step into the water.

 

She’d been right about the water pressure not being all that great, but the wide showerhead was positioned directly over her so it almost made up for it. The water dripped down her form and soothed the muscles tense from bending over a workbench all afternoon, following the paths of the bindings embedded in her skin till they reached the ceramic floor and vanished down the drain. For a moment, Ashe allowed herself to imagine the water dark blue with the ink of her bindings, washing away that part of her. The longing ache it caused her was too much to bear and she forced her thoughts away from that place, drawing in a long, slow breath and reaching for the soap she’d brought with her from home. The sharp tang of lemons assaulted her senses as she lathered herself with it and brought more unwelcome thoughts of home: of the lack of freedom except when she could steal those few moments for herself; her father, furious and disappointed in her for choosing her own path instead of the one the entire island had already selected for her; the constant reminder than she was only there to protect the island and those who lived there, and if she dared to try to mingle and live her own life… It took a great deal of will power not to throw the brick of lemon soap out the window. She firmly focused on cleaning herself before she set the soap aside, refusing to think of Meathe and its people.

 

The shampoo didn’t have an overpowering scent, at least not one that evoked any memories. She let her mind wander again, this time towards the events of that day, of the library, and of Thog… A shiver ran through her as she recalled how close he’d been, his body pressing her back against the bookshelf. She let herself imagine for a moment what it would be like if he’d leaned in that last little distance, if it were his fingers running through her hair and not her own, if his lips had grazed over hers. Eyes closed, Ashe’s lips parted unconsciously as she imagined Thog tilting her head, their breath mingling as he leaned in to kiss her –

 

Above her the shower made an alarming noise and Ashe was dragged from her thoughts as ice cold water drenched her in a sudden torrent. She yelped and threw herself to the other side of the shower stall, chest heaving at the freezing end to her little fantasy. She glared at the showerhead for ruining it for her before she reached up and turned it away, edging past the freezing water to prod at the dials.

 

No turn of them seemed to produce anything but cold water. Ashe swore angrily and shut off the shower… or tried to. The water flow didn’t stop. If anything, it seemed to come a little faster than before. She stared at the showerhead and very quietly hissed out, “Fuck you, whoreson,” before she pushed open the stall and snatched up the towel, wrapping it around her cold wet form. She took comfort in the heat that had leached into it from the hot radiator but it wasn’t enough to entirely combat the ice cold drenching she’d had. She’d all but forgotten about the shampoo suds still in her hair as she left the bathroom. “Hey! I think the shower’s broken!” she called.

 

Silence met her yell and she frowned. She’d been sure the others were in when she got into the shower. Apparently not. She didn’t have a hope in hell of fixing the shower on her own, and there was the problem that she was still soapy and unclean. Damnit, maybe I can borrow someone else’s shower? She didn’t really have an option. She sighed and snagged her card key from her room as she passed, hitching up the towel around her a bit better before she stepped out into the hall.

 

“Ashe?!”

 

She looked up at the incredulous call of her name, relief flooding through her when she spotted Markus and Gregor approaching from the end of the hall, Gregor chewing through a chocolate bar. Both of them looked surprised to see her there. Not that Ashe could blame them. She wasn’t entirely sure that it was normal for people to wander about in towels. “Hey. Listen, my shower broke. It’s freezing and it won’t stop pouring water. Can I borrow yours?”

 

Markus tore his eyes away and stared at the ceiling as he stopped by his door. “Yeah sure, you can use ours,” he said faintly, sounding slightly higher pitched than usual for some reason. He made no move to get out his card key though.

 

Gregor sighed and patted down his pockets, looking for his own. He found it and swiped it through the lock, glancing back over at Ashe. “Nice tattoos Ashe. They’re pretty cool.”

 

For a second Ashe was confused, then she realised Gregor meant the bindings wrapped around her body. With just a towel covering her, they were more on display, easily seen wrapping around her legs and upper torso. “Uh, thanks Gregor.”

 

Gregor gave her a smile and then motioned her inside. “Should probably get you inside though. You’ll freeze out here, all wet like that.”

 

Markus made an odd squeaking sound beside him.

 

Ashe glanced at Markus before she slipped past the two of them, glad to be getting access to a working shower.

 

“Gregor can show you where it is,” Markus said, still sounding out of sorts. “I’m gonna – go get Kier, we’ll look at the shower. See if we can’t fix it.”

 

“Oh, here, you’ll need this.” She offered Markus the key card. “Don’t lose it though. And don’t blow up my shower.”

 

“No promises.” Markus gave her a grin, seeming more like his usual self before he let the door close between them.

 

“Come on, it’s this way,” Gregor said cheerfully. He led her through the living room, past the now fully restored kitchen still smelling of drying paint, and down the hall. They stopped outside the bathroom door. “This is it,” Gregor said. “I guess you’ve got the towel, but uh, you can probably just use the soap and stuff that’s already there.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Since Markus has your key card, I should probably tell him to get some of your clothes, you know, so you don’t have to go back in a towel and get all cold again. That wouldn’t be very nice.”

 

“Thanks Gregor.” Then again, she wasn’t really sure she wanted Markus, the master of glitter and sequins, picking out her clothes for her. Still, she’d lived with people doing that all her life. Surely, living with it one day more wasn’t going to be a terrible burden.

 

“Don’t mention it.” Gregor reached for the door handle but before he could grasp it, the door had opened and Thog was stepping out. He almost walked into the pair of them, freezing in place as he registered Ashe standing there in a towel with hair covered in soap suds.

 

“What the fuck.” He stared at her, eyes taking in the damp skin and the dark blue lines wrapped tight around her body, unable to look away.

 

Ashe wasn’t fairing any better, once again faced with Thog’s bare chest. Only this time he was wrapped in a towel from the waist down and his tanned skin was beaded with moisture from the shower. Absently, she noticed he wasn’t wearing the silver bracelets she’d grown used to seeing him in.

 

“Hi Thog,” Gregor said brightly, completely oblivious to the staring going on. “Ashe’s shower broke, so she’s using ours. I hope you left it clean in there for her.”

 

Thog dragged his eyes from trailing over Ashe’s form and cleared his throat with difficulty, gripping the towel around his waist tighter. “Uh, yeah, it’s clean…uh…you can, uh, you can use my stuff if you need to,” he muttered to Ashe before he crossed the hall and vanished into his room.

 

Ashe gazed after him, absently biting her bottom lip as she watched his back vanish into the room. Gods, what am I doing…I actually want to follow him in there. She had a sneaking suspicion that if Gregor wasn’t looking at her expectantly, she’d have gone over and knocked on the door and stolen the kiss she’d narrowly avoided getting earlier in the day.

 

“Ashe?”

 

“Uh, right. Shower.” She shook herself mentally, pushing thoughts of what was under Thog’s towel to the side and heading into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and removed the towel, sighing as the warmth of the air reached her slightly chilled skin. The towel was hung over the radiator and she took herself to the shower, turning it on and stepping in. Near scalding hot water poured down over her, and as she groaned happily at the heat, a small part of her thought that if Thog likes his showers this hot, then he’d probably enjoy the hot springs on Meathe. She winced and crushed the thought. They’d never allow her to bring an outsider into the inner forest where she stayed. She’d be lucky if they even let Thog land ashore, never mind enter the Guardian’s Steadfast. None of the friends she’d made here would be welcome back home, and wasn’t it painful to think of that? The moment she went home, she’d lose all contact with them. Forever, if they had their way.

 

Ashe gritted her teeth. Stop it. Thinking of this right now is pointless. You have a whole year. One year to prove them wrong. Stop glaring at the tiles and shower already.

 

She washed the suds from her hair, glad to be rid of them at last before she reached for the shampoo she guessed Thog used, since the bottle still had a few suds clinging to it. A quick sniff confirmed her guess and she couldn’t help but smile faintly as she worked the shampoo into her hair. With that scent surrounding her, it was easier to forget thoughts of home; easier to think of the dark haired man and his small smiles, the way his damp hair had curled about his face in the rain that night after the party, the way he’d felt pressing her back into the bookcase…

 

Ashe spent the entire shower from then on in a haze of Thog’s scent and half remembered, half imagined encounters with the man. She couldn’t stay in there forever though, and eventually the water had washed away all the dirt she’d wanted to be rid of. Once more, she wrapped herself in the towel, drying herself off. She was gentler with herself when she patted the bindings dry, wary of their sensitivity to touch. Done with that, she unlocked the door and stuck her head out. On the floor in front of the door was a small pile of her clothes folded rather neatly. She didn’t see anything with glitter or sequins so she took that as a good sign and bent down to grab them and bring them in. It took only a few moments to dress herself, deciding to forgo the warm cream jumper Markus had added to the pile since she was still feeling the heat from the shower, carrying that and the towel with her when she stepped out the bathroom.

 

In the living room, Thog was sitting on the couch with a book in his lap while Gregor curled up on the armchair to the side. Gregor looked ready to drop off into a nap but he still managed to send Ashe a sleepy smile. She returned it and looked to Thog. He seemed a little nervous but he met her gaze. “Sorry about your shower,” he mumbled.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” She sank onto the other end of the couch, leaning against the armrest to face him. “It’s not like you broke it or anything. I’m just glad you guys let me use yours.”

 

Gregor hummed gently, a noise that was probably supposed to mean something like “That’s what friends are for Ashe!” His eyes were shut and as Ashe turned her attention to him, she could see his breathing slow as he dropped into dreamland. She was overcome by the desire to tuck him in and brush his hair out his face before she pushed it down and turned back to Thog. She noticed the book in his lap and shifted closer. “So, what are you reading?” she asked, voice soft to keep from waking Gregor up.

 

“Oh, uh, the book from the library.” Thog kept his voice just as low, half closing the book to show Ashe the cover. It was indeed the reference copy they’d stolen from the library. “Just thought I might as well get a head start on the reading.” He let it fall back open to the page he’d been reading.

 

“You mind if I have a look?” Ashe asked, looking up at him. Even when they were sitting on the couch he still had the height advantage. Not that she really minded all that much.

 

“Go ahead.” He motioned at the book, thinking Ashe would take it. He was surprised when she scooted along the couch till she was all but pressed against his side, leaning over into his space to read the open book. His breath caught in his throat as he smelled his shampoo on her, mixing in with the scent of her lemon soap. She was still rather hot from the shower and he could feel the heat from her leg pressed against his, from her leaning against his arm, from having the rest of her this close to him. He moved his arm out the way and she leaned closer to him as she got in a better position to read. Slowly, hesitantly, he shifted a little closer himself, the arm he’d just moved out the way going to rest on the couch seat behind her.

 

Thog watched her as she read, watching the way her golden eyes scanned the words and drank them in, telling exactly where she was on the page when she arched her eyebrow in disbelief. “It’s a lie, you know.”

 

“What?” Ashe looked up from the pages of history, surprise flicking over her face when she realised how close she was to Thog, once again feeling the beginning of heat coiling in her lower body.

 

“All the stuff about Alaran.” He glanced down at the book before he looked her in the eyes again, a slight teasing edge to his expression as he whispered, “It’s twice as bad as what they put here.”

 

Ashe had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh, glancing over at Gregor to make sure he hadn’t woken up. He stayed fast asleep, smiling faintly into his fuzzy red jumper. When she turned back, Thog was looking at her with the same heated gaze he’d had back in the library. She felt the heat grow until it filled her whole form, cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink.

 

“Ashe…” Thog leaned in closer, their noses almost touching, breath mingling much like it had back at the library.

 

She found it hard to speak again, voice barely loud enough to count as a whisper. “Yeah, Thog?” She wondered for a moment if this was it, the moment she’d imagined in the shower. Her stomach cart wheeled as Thog leaned in, eyes shut, lips parted. She inhaled sharply as she felt his left hand against her lower back, the right coming up to cup her cheek. Ashe’s eyes fell closed even as she leaned into the hand, both of her own finding themselves wound in Thog’s shirt. Finally, she thought feeling the warmth of his lips just millimetres from her own –

 

An explosion sounded from next door, dragging Ashe’s attention from the moment she’d been day dreaming of since earlier and earning her instant fury, glaring at the wall through which her flat lay. Thog’s hand fell from her cheek and he looked over at the wall, concern on his face. Gregor awoke with the sound and jumped from the chair, something glinting in his hand as he stared wild eyed at the wall. “What was that?!”

 

Ashe’s gaze landed on the glint in his hand and she realised with alarm that it was a knife. “Gregor, why-”

 

“Not important.” He turned away, hiding the sigil carved into the blade that she’d been trying to identify. “What was that?”

 

“… I think it was Kier,” Thog said slowly, leaning back and letting Ashe go, relieved that Gregor didn’t seem to have noticed their compromised position. “Which means you might have just lost your shower, Ashe.”

 

“Kier? But – but Markus was through there!” Gregor hid the blade wherever he’d stowed it away and ran for the door.

 

Thog sighed and pushed aside the book, getting to his feet and offering Ashe a hand up. She didn’t need help but she took it anyway, an excuse to feel his touch again. “Look,” he muttered. “About that -”

 

“Let’s just leave it until I deal with whatever Kier did to my shower,” she interrupted, the mood entirely ruined. It was going to be rather hard not to take that out on Kier when she saw him next. “Come on.” She tugged briefly on his hand as she went for the door before letting him go. Best not to let other people see them holding hands, they might presume something.

 

Outside her door, she found Gregor looking frantic and a somewhat annoyed looking Karen the RA. The door across was just opening to show a concerned Kyl'il when all around them the familiar wails of the fire alarm went off.

 

“No! Markus! Kier! I’m coming!” Gregor yelled over the wailing and the sounds of students starting to evacuate. He took a few steps back before he rushed at the door.

 

“Gregor no!” Ashe tried to stop him, sure he was just going to rebound off the electronically locked door, only to be surprised when he crashed right through it and kept on going.

 

Karen just sighed and reached for her cell phone as Ashe and Thog followed him in. Down the corridor, smoke crawled across the ceiling as it leaked out the bathroom. Right at the door, someone’s hand peeked out, the fingers pale and slim.

 

“Markus!” Gregor cried, pushing open the door and dropping to his knees beside the still figure of the tiefling. He brushed back the mess of blond hair covering Markus’ face, wincing as he saw the open cut along the pale cheek. Ashe dropped down beside him, checking Markus’ pulse.

 

“Thog, Gregor, get Kier,” she ordered, tone allowing no argument. Gregor whined softly but got up, finding Kier passed out in the shower cubical itself, singed and as unconscious as Markus. Thog helped him get Kier up and out the cubical, away from the flaming and sparking shower and out into the hall where Ashe had dragged Markus. “Let’s get them out of here before it spreads any further.” Ashe managed to get Markus’ unconscious form over her shoulder in a fireman’s life, amazed at just how light the tiefling was. As she carried him out she wondered if he was eating enough. Outside the flat, a glance back showed her Thog and Gregor lifting Kier out to safety just behind her.

 

Karen had left the area, it seemed, and it was up to them to do the same, dragging their unconscious friends outside. Ashe was relieved to see that at least this time it was dry. Hopefully it stayed that way.

 

Shortly, fire engines and ambulances had drawn up. By that time, Markus had woken up and was trying to wave people away, saying he was absolutely fine, no really. The paramedics snagged him anyway and forced him through a few tests before they slapped a plaster over the cut on his cheek and told him not to be so foolish as to mix magic and technology again. Markus made no promises.

 

Kier took longer to come around, waking up to a torch in his eyes in the back of the ambulance. They sent him out after half an hour with the diagnosis of a slight concussion. Ashe once more ended up with Kier apologising and looking sad. She couldn’t stand it and ended up hugging the poor idiot in the hopes it would cheer him up. It worked, Kier’s thick arms wrapping around her and squeezing tight. She almost vanished in his grip, released after a long embrace and another heartfelt apology. She didn’t have the heart to be angry at him after that. When they separated, Gregor was hovering anxiously nearby. “What’s up Gregor, you want a hug as well?” Ashe joked, unable to help smiling when Gregor actually looked hopeful. She opened her arms and let the slightly shorter Gregor hug her. He was tense when she wrapped her arms around him, though he relaxed a little in her embrace. She couldn’t resist gently ruffling his hair, heart glad of the small smile she got in return. Released, he turned to Kier, looking just as hopeful. Kier didn’t hesitate to hug him as well, Gregor vanishing into the embrace more than Ashe had. It was rather adorable from Ashe’s perspective.

 

Markus wandered over while they were hugging, looking a little guilty. “Sorry about your shower Ashe. I guess, uh, this means I should probably not help Kier with this sort of thing in future.”

 

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” Ashe agreed, turning to him. Behind him, she could see Thog having an argument with Karen the RA and someone who looked a little more official. That was kind of worrying. She dragged her attention back to Markus and sighed at how glum he looked. “You want a hug too, Markus?”

 

“Well, if you’re okay with it, I mean I wouldn’t be adverse to it,” he said hurriedly. “You don’t have to-”

 

“Markus shut up and hug me before I punch you for breaking my shower.”

 

“Okay then, decision made.” He wrapped his twig-like arms around her, making an odd squawking noise when she squeezed a little too tight.

 

“Gods Markus, do you have any meat on your bones?” she laughed and then let him go, not wanting to hurt him more than he’d already hurt himself.

 

“I have some meat… somewhere.” He shrugged. “Anyway, Dont was saying that she’s offering to make cookies when we all can get back in. Since there’s no rain so far, there’s no reason to go running off to dry clothes and bed this time. All in all a better end to the day this time.”

 

Ashe glowered at him. “If you think I want to end every day here in an explosion and sirens, you and Kier have another thing coming.”

 

-0-

 

Dont kept her promise and somehow, they managed to fit 3 flats worth of people into their small living room, dragging over the breakfast bar stools for extra seating. Inien didn’t really mind perching on the top of the armchair Kier was sitting in, her legs draped over one of his shoulders. Kier didn’t really seem to mind either. Thog, Ashe and Gregor took up the couch, while the barstools were occupied by Markus, Charoth and Kyl'il. That left Dont without a seat but since she was currently mixing up a batch of cookie dough she didn’t really mind so much.

 

Ashe had been kind of surprised at the lack of damage to the door, until Kier mentioned that it was a safety thing: as soon as the alarms went off the electronically locked doors all unlocked to allow easy access to would be rescuers or escapees. It made sense to her. Another thing that surprised her was the lack of smell. She’d been expecting to have to put up with the stench but it seemed they’d gotten lucky and only the bathroom itself smelled slightly odd.

 

The conversation turned away from exactly what had happened in the shower room to what was going to be done about it. Thog sighed and sank back into the couch, rubbing at his head. “Looks like they’ll pay to get it fixed but they warned me that if Kier blows up more rooms that aren’t his own, he’ll end up getting kicked out of student accommodation.”

 

Kier looked rather afraid of that. “You mean I’d have to leave?”

 

“Only the accommodation,” Ashe clarified. “I think. You’d just have to find somewhere to stay that’s off campus. But of course, it’d be easier if you didn’t have to do that. So no more blowing up other peoples rooms.”

 

“Or your own,” Kyl'il chimed in, the flames between her horns brightening in warning. Markus sighed dreamily.

 

Kier sighed. “It’s not like I try to blow things up deliberately… it just kind of happens. Especially when magic is involved.”

 

“No more magical assistance. Got it.” Markus didn’t particularly want to risk his friend being thrown out so soon. That sort of risk was, at earliest, an end of year thing. Or maybe final year, when you did something big and showy and spectacular, with lots of glitter and sparkles and fire. Yes, that sounded about right.

 

The conversation drifted then, going between various topics as Dont hummed and baked in the background. Soon enough, the first tray of baked goods was being presented to the group who eagerly took the still hot cookies from the tray. All except Ashe and Gregor - neither of whom moved. Thog saw why and helpfully snagged Ashe a cookie too. “Here,” he murmured, offering her it. She took it and thanked him, glancing to where Gregor had fallen asleep with his head resting on her shoulder. It was the second time that day that he’d napped, as far as she knew. He probably needed it, so she wasn’t inclined to move him until she absolutely had to.

 

They were well into their second tray of cookies and drinks, with Dont perched on the other side of Kier on the arm of the chair, before others started to feel as tired as Gregor apparently did. Charoth started yawning first, tipping sideways off his stool until Kyl'il slid an arm around his shoulders. He leaned into her and signed something. She nodded, turning back to the group. “I think I’m going to take Charoth home, we’re both rather tired.”

 

Kier sat up in his chair, blinking tiredly. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind an early night either. They said it might help my head.”

 

“As good a time as any I suppose,” Thog murmured, reluctantly easing himself away from the warmth of Ashe’s side. “Better get Gregor home too.”

 

Markus yawned and nodded, sliding off his barstool and straightening up. Before either he or Thog could wake Gregor, Kier had slid his way between the two ladies by his side and gone to the couch, picking Gregor up effortlessly in his arms. The smaller male curled against his chest, sighing softly in his sleep. Ashe had to fight the urge to call the scene cute. Dont hurried over to the kitchen while everyone was getting ready and wrapped up some cookies, coming back over to tuck them into Gregor’s pocket. “For later,” she whispered to him, though he didn’t hear a word.

 

Ashe showed everyone out, unsurprised to see Thog exit last. He hovered by the door as Markus and Kier, carrying Gregor, went next door, leaning against the door frame. The living room was empty, Inien and Dont having vanished to their rooms.

 

“So,” he said softly, leaning over Ashe. “It’s later…”

 

“It is later.” Ashe smiled up at him, leaning on the doorframe, right beside him.

 

“I was thinking-”

 

“That’s a dangerous pastime for you Thog,” she teased, though she was pleased to see him step closer, close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss…

 

“I know.” He smirked faintly. “I was thinking since we were so rudely interrupted earlier, maybe we could finish it here…”

 

“Here, on the doorstep.” Ashe raised an eyebrow, reaching out and tugging at his shirt. He came forwards willingly, his warm body slotting against hers in a particularly enjoyable way. “Where anyone could see?” she whispered playfully. “That’s risky.”

 

“So was almost kissing in front of Gregor,” Thog replied, his hands settling on Ashe’s slim hips, thumbs rubbing at her hipbones through the fabric of her clothing.

 

“He was asleep. It wasn’t that risky.” Ashe sorely wanted to give in, to finally get her first kiss from Thog but… “And that’s what I’m looking for right now. Sleep.”

 

Thog nodded slowly, and carefully withdrew his hands from her hips. “Maybe we should do this again sometime. After some sleep.”

 

“After some sleep,” Ashe echoed, letting go of his shirt and smoothing over the faint creases she’d left in it. Thog caught one of her hands in his before she could withdraw entirely.

 

“You know, my door’s always open,” he said casually. “You don’t even have to knock.”

 

Ashe laughed softly, giving his hand a squeeze that somehow still managed to send shivers through her. “I’ll remember that. Goodnight Thog.” She let him go and stepped back into her flat.

 

“So’s my shower,” he added before she shut the door. The last thing he saw was her bright eyes and amused grin. He grinned to himself and scratched the back of his neck before he turned to his door, almost walking into Kier. Kier grinned at him, and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Thog glared at him. “Not a word, Fiyore, not a fucking word.”

 

Kier didn’t say a thing, grinning the whole while.


	5. Chapter 5

-0-

 

The next three days proved to be some of the busiest Ashe had ever suffered through, even taking into account getting readied for rituals and ceremonies back home. It seemed that after the first two days, the lecturers hadn’t really gotten the memo that it was only their first week. Ashe returned to her room each night, mind numb, bag full of handouts, notes, and books to read ahead in for classes. Her friends were in the same boat, with lunchtimes reduced to a rush of food and frenzied reading as they tried to get a head start. She’d barely been able to say more than “Hi” to Thog since their moment by the door, and that irked her more than she was willing to let on.

 

She thought she at least stood a chance when Saturday arrived. However, when she dropped by his flat to see if he was in, she found Gregor napping on the couch and Markus telling her that she’d just missed him. “I think he went to the library.” The tiefling shrugged. “Why you after him anyway? Anything I can help with? I swear I won’t use magic this time.”

 

“Actually, we’ve been sharing a textbook. I wanted to borrow it for some reading, but I guess I might be able to catch him at the library.” Ashe gave him a wry smile. “So unless you can magic Thog out of your pocket, you can’t really help me this time, Markus.”

 

“Oh well, you can’t say I never tried.” He grinned. “See you later?”

 

“Yeah, see you later Markus. Tell Gregor I said hi.” With that, she left him and made her way to the library, figuring if she couldn’t find Thog among the shelves then maybe she could find out a few other things while she was there.

 

-0-

 

Thog proved impossible to find. Either she’d missed him leaving the library or he was simply lost in the stacks of books somewhere. Both options were entirely possible. She sighed and returned to the catalogue computers, catching sight of the OUT OF ORDER sign taped above the blackened copy machine as she went past. She picked up the pace and tugged down the woollen hat over her strikingly coloured hair, hoping it was enough to dissuade the librarians from recognising her even if it was slightly too warm to wear one. Luckily, it was a fashion thing right about then, so she seemed to be getting away with it.

 

At the computers, she took a breath to steady herself at what she might find before she typed in ‘Meathe +’ and hesitated for a long moment before adding ‘guardian’ and hitting enter.

 

_“There were no exact titles matching your search. Here is a list of similar titles…”_

 

Ashe scanned the book titles and let out a small breath when it seemed as if none of them were obviously going to give away her secret if her friends happened across them. Still, something nagged at her, a curious need to know what the outside world thought it knew of her home and how much of it was correct. She wrote down a few of the reference numbers for the books she thought looked the most interesting and cleared the search from the computer before she went wandering the shelves.

 

It took her a little while to find the section she was after, humming along to the music that was coming from her headphones as she browsed along the shelf. Soon she had a small pile of thin books in her arms, including _Mysteries of Meathe_ , _Geological Hotspot: Meathe Edition_ , _Meathe: A Botanist’s Account of Paradise,_ and lastly _A History of Meathe and the Surrounding Isles_ among others. The last looked rather tattered and old, and Ashe couldn’t imagine it had anything recent in it. The section on Meathe didn’t really seem to be all that popular or up to date. Still, a slight bud of homesickness made her carry the books back to the reading area where she settled down in a booth, pulling off the woollen hat and fluffing up her hair before adjusting her headphones and settling in to read _Geological Hotspot: Meathe Edition_.

 

_“Meathe is one island in a volcanic chain located in the Free Isles, home to many species of flora and fauna that cannot be found elsewhere in the geographical region. The island is suspected to have first formed…”_

 

Ashe read the first chapter then gave up, shutting the book and sliding it to one side. _Meathe: A Botanist’s Account of Paradise_ looked like it might be more interesting, Ashe’s thoughts turning to the magnificent trees that were the home of her people.

 

_“In all my years of being a botanist, never have I encountered anywhere like the paradise that was Meathe. During my time on the island, I discovered no fewer than 30 new species of plant, including several sub-species of the giant tree which the indigenous people there make their homes. It is one thing to see these giants from the sea, approaching the island, and quite another to curl up inside one for the night. Sometimes I swear I could feel the tree breathing around me, keeping me secure and safe in my private room. Not a very scientific description, perhaps, but this is not the paper in which I published the discovery of these species. This is an account of my time on the island, and of the people I met and lived with there.”_

 

Ashe frowned and drew back from the book, tapping at the cover thoughtfully with a finger as she considered it. The publishing date at the front of it was from over a decade ago. it was possible this botanist woman had been to the island during her childhood. She wondered if there was any mention of her home there; of the celebration they’d thrown around the entire island when they’d announced her as the new guardian… She closed the book and moved it aside again, this one of books to take with her when she left. A quick scan left _Mysteries of Meathe_ languishing in the rejected pile before she started reading the history book. It hooked her attention almost immediately as it launched into descriptions of the various calamities that had befallen the island that the people there had survived, even thrived through.

 

Time spun on around her and she didn’t realise how lost she’d gotten in reading her own history until someone’s left hand appeared beside hers on the table. Attention drawn away from the book, she looked at it. The silver bracelet caught her attention immediately and she reached up to tug off her headphones. “Thog?” she asked, turning around. She came face to face with his chest as he leaned over her, eyes on her book piles.

 

“ _Mysteries of Meathe_ , _Meathe: A Botanist’s Account of Paradise_ , _A History of Meathe and the Surrounding Isles_ … God Ashe, do we have a paper on this or something that I didn’t get the memo about?” he asked, looking down at her in legitimate confusion.

 

“Uh, no, no. You’re safe.” She snapped her book shut and put it on top of the botanist’s book, adding a few of the other likely looking ones to that pile with the others going to the rejected one. “Just some research for me.” She was too busy being flustered about being caught reading about Meathe to really react to how close Thog was to her.

 

“What’s Meathe to you anyway? A holiday spot?” he asked, a little put out at the lack of reaction. He’d been hoping to see that light flush creep over her cheeks like it had the last time they were alone with a book. He sank into the chair to her left, dragging the books towards him. “Or are you thinking of your final year dissertation already?”

 

“Neither, Thog, can I – give me the books.” She reached for them and Thog let her take them, frowning.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Fine, just…” she swallowed, forcing herself to relax. “Meathe is… It’s home for me. I guess I was just feeling a bit homesick.”

 

“Oh.” Of all the answers he could have gotten out of her, Thog hadn’t been expecting that. “Sorry Ashe,” he murmured, looking like he wanted to do something to comfort her a bit whilst unsure of how to go about doing it without seeming overly sappy.

 

“It’s alright. It’s interesting to see what the outside world thinks of us.” She tapped the cover of _Mysteries of Meathe_ with a wry smile on her face. “A lot of nonsense, as it turns out.”

 

“I take it Meathe doesn’t get much contact with the rest of the world?” Thog arched an eyebrow, rather curious about Ashe’s home. Alaran, his home, was anything but interesting and he was glad to be away from it. He couldn’t imagine missing home like Ashe did.

 

“Not... exactly?” Ashe made a gesture like she wasn’t entirely sure. “The place I lived in didn’t get much attention, or what attention it did get was turned away before they could get too close. The world sees Meathe… They never saw my home, though. They made sure of that.”

 

Thog sensed that whoever ‘they’ were, it was a touchy subject for Ashe. This whole conversation felt like a touchy subject, and so he warned himself to tread carefully lest he bring up something he really shouldn’t. “…What was your home like?” It seemed a safe enough question.

 

Ashe considered it, leaning back in her chair. “Home was… It was the tallest tree in the grove we were in, the thickest trunk, the most branches with the widest canopy. The inside was carved out into different levels, and each branch had its own hollow rooms, some even had balconies you could go out and stand on. If you were brave enough, you could jump off them and climb the parts that hadn’t been tamed.” As she spoke, she smiled faintly, recalling days where she’d hid in the hollow part of a branch near the very top of her tree to avoid her father and the lessons they forced on her. “My room was near the top, it used to be so easy to sneak out at night, climb up the tree to watch the stars pass by. I used to get in so much trouble if they found me out of bed.” She laughed softly. “So I started making sure they never found me out of bed. We didn’t have showers; we had hot springs. Or water brought up from them if you couldn’t go down to them in person. You’d have liked the hot springs.” She shot a grin at Thog who nodded, thinking he probably would. “The island is volcanic, so there’s no shortage of fresh food. We farm, we hunt, but the wild berries always tasted the best, the wild boar better than the farmed pigs. I didn’t get to experience that as much as I wanted to. I probably never will.”

 

“Why?” Thog found himself asking, regretting it immediately when Ashe visibly shut down.

 

“Duties,” she said shortly, gaze dropping to the books on the table. “I had… responsibilities. Lessons. Even coming here was-” Ashe broke off. “It doesn’t matter.” It was clear from the slight quaver in her voice, however, that it did matter. It mattered a lot.

 

Thog spoke up before he could stop himself. “Come on, you look like you could use a drink. And none of that magic crap this time.”

 

Ashe looked up at him, surprised. “A drink?”

 

“Yeah. On me.” He rose and offered her a hand. “You coming? I think after this week, we deserve it.”

 

Ashe glanced at his hand, then at the books on the table before she took it. “Yeah, I think I could use a drink.”

 

-0-

 

They didn’t get back till much later that night, and at that point Ashe had to unlock Thog’s door for him because his fingers weren’t cooperating nicely. She left him wander off to bed with a grin and retreated home, feeling immensely happier after the myriad of drinks shared with Thog. She hadn’t expected to open the door to Inien in her pyjamas waiting on the couch.

 

“And what time do you call this?” Inien shot her a grin as she shut the door, legs tucked up under her as she set down a glass of water. “Who were you out with, you dark horse? Did I hear Thog out there?”

 

“Maybe. Why? What’s it matter to you?” Ashe asked defensively, wary as Inien got to her feet and slid over the floor to stand before her faster than she would have thought possible.

 

“Oh, nothing at all.” Inien grinned, tapping her chin. “I’m just curious if you two are an item or not. Exclusive, you know?”

 

Ashe edged past her roommate and made a half agreeing noise before she realised what she was doing. “Uh, no, no we’re not, um, an item. Not… really. Not yet, uh… Can we not talk about this right now? I’m really tired and-”

 

“Oh of course not, go on.” Inien waved her onto bed, grinning the whole while.

 

-0-

 

Ashe, to her surprise (and disappointment), didn’t see Thog all day on Sunday. She decided to spend the day in lazing about clothes and spend some time reading. She moved between the required reading for various classes and the books on home she’d picked up yesterday. The door to her room was left open and she spent a while talking with Dont and Inien when they passed by. Dont even had a slice of pie for her at one point.

 

Monday rolled around and so did the classes again. Ashe was glad she’d managed to read as much of the book on Thog’s lap the night of the exploding shower when it came time for Aften’s class, otherwise she might have been a little lost. Still, she had enough time to scribble a note on her pad and slip it over the desk to Thog beside her.

 

_Where were you yesterday?_

 

The note came back in Thog’s sharp scrawl. _Why, you miss me already?_

 

_Dont had pie, you missed out._

_Dont always has pie. I was busy._

 

Ashe rolled her eyes and focused on the lecture for a few moments, taking notes in her blocky writing before another note landed on her desk.

 

_You free later? Got something to show you._

 

She looked up from the note at Thog, raising an eyebrow. He ignored her, giving no hint as to what it was he had in mind and continuing to take notes from the lecture. She looked back down, hesitated, and then scribbled her reply.

 

_Sure, come over whenever._

 

-0-

 

Thog turned up a short while after dinner while Ashe was reading in her room again. She heard Dont answer the door and let him in. That gave her just enough time to turn down her already quiet music and fluff up her hair before there was a knock at the door. She got up to let Thog in, only to stare at the thing in his arms.

 

“Thog, why are you holding a plant pot?”

 

Thog glanced down at the small plant, then back up to Ashe. “Well,” he said slowly, “I could explain that while I’m standing in your door, or you could let me in so I can put it down, and then explain.”

 

Ashe chose to let him in. The small plant pot was sat on her desk, right beside the books she’d been reading about home, the blue and green pot fitting in rather well with Ashe’s usual colour preferences. Even the leaves seemed familiar somehow, though she couldn’t recall where she’d seen them before. “So. What’s with the plant?”

 

Thog turned to her as the door clicked shut and smiled faintly. “Funny, I thought you’d maybe recognise it.” He waved at the plant. “Have a closer look.”

 

Ashe curiously stepped up to the desk, leaning down a little to get a better look at the young plant. As she leaned over it, a familiar scent caught her attention. Her eyes widened as it took her back to her room in the carved out tree. A glance at the leaves on the plant confirmed her suspicions and she had to take a step back, hand over her mouth. “H-how did you-?”

 

“I have a few contacts,” Thog replied evasively, shifting where he stood with hands shoved in his pockets. There was an air of uncertainty about him as he asked, “D-d’you like it?”

 

“Thog, I don’t know what to say. This is… Gods.” She felt herself tearing up, her homesickness apparently a little stronger than she’d thought as she found herself pining for the trees and plants of home, of the scent of the soil after a rain, and the hot springs after a hard training session, her room, her secret branch…

 

When she blinked through the tears, she found herself in Thog’s arms, face buried in his shoulder while he held her tight. She sniffed, forcing herself to get a grip. _Guardians don’t cry remember, they’re not supposed to feel anything, get a hold of yourself_. But even though she stopped her sniffing, she didn’t remove herself from Thog’s arms, finding a comfort there that she craved.

 

It was a long, quiet few minutes before she could lift her head from his shoulder, muttering an apology for being emotional. Thog frowned. “No need to apologise for that. Don’t worry about it. You alright?”

 

She nodded, letting her forehead fall forwards against his neck, eyes shutting. “Homesickness hit me harder than I thought.” she mumbled, taking comfort in the warmth of his body. It wasn’t quite like a hot spring, but it was comforting. She felt herself guided to the bed, sitting down beside him, tucked against his side. “I didn’t think I’d miss it,” she admitted to him. “I hate it so much, and I came here to escape, but I miss it. I miss it and I still don’t want to go back. Gods, what is wrong with me?”

 

“Hey, nothing’s wrong with you.” Thog frowned, struggling to think of the words to say. “You’re just conflicted. It’s okay to be conflicted. You have a year here, right? Then you go back anyway. If you missed it enough to stay, then stay. But if you hate it enough to leave again, then come back here.”

 

“That’s what I was planning on... If they let me.” She sighed, feeling calmer but still not entirely at ease about it. Then again, she felt off centre just being away from home at all.

 

“Aesling. If they think they can stop you from doing what you want, they obviously don’t know you like I do.” Thog rubbed at her arm in what he hoped was an encouraging way, really not used to comforting people he cared about.

 

“Heh, and how well do you know me, Thog?” Ashe asked, looking up at him. It was right about then that his fingers brushed over her bindings and sent shivers rushing through her, banishing her mixed emotions about Meathe.

 

“Not as well as I’d like to,” he admitted, watching that curious response with interest. “Do you always do that?” His fingers traced the lower band around her arm and he watched her breathe quicker, eyes half-lidding at the sensation. Thog’s eyes drifted to the tips of the bindings he could see peeking out her collar. “And if I…” It took willpower not to just press his lips to the ones on her neck, instead bringing his other hand up to lightly brush over one.

 

Ashe swore softly.

 

“Should I stop?” Thog asked quietly. As much as he didn’t want to, he was well aware that the way Ashe was reacting was too strong for someone who was used to this sensation. The last thing he wanted was to drive her into anything.

 

“You can shut up.” Ashe reached up, snagged his shirt collar and pulled him down towards her. If she felt any hesitation she certainly wasn’t showing it. “And you can finish what you started last week.” She’d been waiting for far too long to get her kiss, and within the privacy of her own room, she was quite sure they weren’t going to be interrupted. If something exploded, she was going to kiss Thog before dealing with it because frankly she was tired of being left hanging. The heat coiling in her lower body agreed - no more waiting.

 

Thog didn’t hesitate to listen to her this time, leaning down the short distance till their noses brushed together. He paused for a second as though waiting for the inevitable interruption. It never came, and with a faint smile, pressed his lips to Ashe’s at last.


End file.
